


Love Is Not An Emotion

by Unionjackpillow



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Emily Prentiss/Aaron Hotchner if you squint at it, Prentiss thinks Hotch hates her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29332086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unionjackpillow/pseuds/Unionjackpillow
Summary: Prentiss thinks Hotch hates her and complains to Rossi. There's some scotch and maybe some idiots in love.
Kudos: 2





	Love Is Not An Emotion

„Love is a lot like fire. It can be an all-consuming blaze that only lasts for a short moment and leaves nothing but chaos, ashes and sadness in its wake. Other times it can be a bonfire at the beach, warm and beautiful while it burns brightly, and when the last embers are finally gone you remember it fondly, sometimes wondering what would or could have been if you had taken a little more care, had watched it a little more closely or given it more space to grow. If you are lucky, the fire will be an almost everlasting flame in your home’s fireplace. It keeps you warm on cold days, it brightens the darkest night and keeps the monsters that lurk in the shadows at bay, its soft crackling offering a comforting background noise you miss whenever you’re not home. Sure, sometimes you have to work hard to keep that fire going, making sure an unexpected gust doesn’t blow it out, but in the end it’s worth it. It can also be a lit match, small in the grand scheme of things yet mighty in its possibilities. You can shield its flame, protect it from all outer forces so it can fulfill its purpose - light a candle, light some kindling wood in that fireplace of yours or even an gasoline fire. The choice is yours.“

David Rossi closed his laptop in frustration. His publisher had been haunting him for the first draft of his latest novel and although he knew where he wanted to go with his story about a serial arsonist, he kept coming back again and again to this passage that compared love to fire. He didn’t know why and that was almost as frustrating as the knowledge that his deadline was in two days. So when on a Friday evening Agent Emily Prentiss burst into his office, two glasses and a really nice bottle of scotch in her hand, his frustration gave way to curiosity.

„Bella, I thought you were already out dancing and having a good time with your friends.“

Prentiss didn’t answer but plopped down in one of the visitor chairs in front of Rossi’s desk, filled the glasses with a very generous amount of scotch and before Rossi could even take hold of one of the drinks, she had downed her own and went for a refill.

„Why does Hotch hate me so much?“ she asked, downing drink number two.

Rossi almost spit out his drink. „What are you talking about? Why do you think that Hotch hates you?“

„He avoids me. When we’re on the plane, in the conference room or in a police station, he sits or stands as far away from me as possible. When he sends me out to do interviews with vicims, family members or prisoners he always pairs me up with JJ or Reid and when we’re about to take down an unsub he pairs me up with Morgan, never with himself. He’s always on my ass about my reports and consults and barely looks me in the eye when talking to me.“ She refilled her glass for the third time.

Rossi sighed. He really didn’t get paid enough to have to deal with this shit. Just last week he had to act as intermediary for Morgan and Garcia when the two of them -

„Prentiss to Rossi, hello!“

„Yes, yes, I’m all ears, Bella. Listen, Hotch doesn’t hate y-“

„Have you heard anything that I said to you just now? How am supposed to interpret his behaviour with anything else than hate or at least annoyance?“

„Do you know who one of my favourite writers is?“

Now Emily herself was the one being annoyed. She looked up at Rossi while downing drink number three and going for an immediate refill. „What has that got to do with agent stick-up-the-arse’s behaviour?“

Trying to stifle his chuckle at Prentiss’ favourite pet name for his friend, Rossi continued, „One of my favourite authors is Andrew Vachss. He’s an astonishing and very brave man but that’s completely beside the point. The point is that he wrote something very simple and completely underrated, something we witness almost daily in our work.

‚Children know the truth  
Love is not an emotion  
Love is behaviour’

Hotch doesn’t hate you. He pairs you up with Reid and JJ for interviews because he knows how great you work with either of them. He pairs you up on takedowns with Morgan because he knows that Morgan is the best at it, even better than Aaron himself, and he knows Morgan will do everything in his power to keep you safe. He’s always ‚on your ass‘ because he knows how good you are as an agent and he wants others to see it too. Part of that are his quarterly reports to Strauss in which he has to include some of the team’s field reports, case studies and consults. While Reid’s are factually correct they often lack a more human perspective, yours on the other hand are only second to Aaron’s own. And the reason for him staying as far away as possible from you, if you still haven’t figured that one out on your own by now, is he doesn’t trust himself when he’s close to you. If I had a dollar for every time he had to stop himself from reaching out to you, I’d have a second mansion.“

Prentiss let out a breath she didn’t notice holding. She did however notice the filled glass in her hand, downed that one as quickly as she had the others and didn’t dare to look directly at Rossi lest her eyes show her feelings. Getting out of the visitor chair took a lot more effort than expected. Just before she turned around to walk out of the office she asked one last thing: „This, uh, this here never happened. Okay?“

„Bella, as long as you leave that bottle it’ll be our little secret.“ Rossi smiled at her. He really, really didn’t get paid enough to deal with those idiots. But then again, they were his idiots and he felt at least partially responsible for them. With that in mind, he reopened his laptop and began typing.


End file.
